Senator Larry Taylor, R-Friendswood, debates Senator Judith Zaffirini who eventually wins passage in the Senate of her bill to ban texting while driving as legislators work at the Texas Capitol on May 19, 2017.

Senator Larry Taylor, R-Friendswood, debates Senator Judith Zaffirini who eventually wins passage in the Senate of her bill to ban texting while driving as legislators work at the Texas Capitol on May 19, 2017.

Photo: Tom Reel, Staff

'Bathroom bill' battle likely to go down to the wire in Legislature

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AUSTIN - The Texas Senate, determined to pass a stricter so-called "bathroom bill" before lawmakers leave town Monday, is prepared to push the issue of which restrooms transgender kids in Texas schools can use until deadlines strike at the end of the session.

Sen. Larry Taylor, a Republican from Friendswood, said Wednesday he would ask the Senate to appoint a conference committee to seek a compromise with the House on Senate Bill 2078, which includes a House-backed amendment making statewide rules for school districts' bathroom policies. Taylor said the deliberations were necessary because the House change was not substantive enough for the Senate.

The Senate was expected to approve Taylor's call for a conference committee, which will include five senators appointed by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick. The bill would then go back to the House, when the chamber will have to decide whether to appoint its own five negotiators. If they choose to do some, the 10-member committee will have only a few days to work out a compromise and get their product before both chambers for final votes.

In the final days of the Legislature, SB 2078 - a bill regarding school hazard and emergency preparedness plans - became the main vehicle for the "bathroom bill," which has been a major sticking point between House and Senate leaders throughout the 140-day session.

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Patrick, who presides over the Senate, has said he will seek a special session if legislators do not pass a bill to his liking, but there is no indication that the House is open to going beyond the measure it passed Sunday night.

The House approved an amendment, authored by GOP Rep. Chris Paddie of Marshall, to SB 2078 that would require public schools and open-enrollment charter schools to limit the use of bathroom and locker rooms to each student's "biological sex." The measure would keep transgender students from using the facility of their gender identity, and schools instead would have to provide single-occupancy bathrooms and changing rooms for transgender students.

A broader Senate version, which never received a hearing in the House, would have restricted public bathroom access on the basis of "biological sex" listed on a person's birth certificate. Senate Bill 6, by Republican Sen. Lois Kolkhorst of Brenham, would have applied to bathrooms and locker rooms in government buildings, public schools and colleges and universities.

Taylor said Tuesday that he had no intention of trying to get the conference committee to approve SB 6, adding that minor tweaks to the House-approved language on SB 2078 could make the measure palatable to both chambers.